


Burgers and Brews

by MaeveBran



Category: Leverage
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-25
Updated: 2012-07-25
Packaged: 2017-11-10 16:38:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/468429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeveBran/pseuds/MaeveBran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story to fill the gap between season 4 and the first episode of season 5. Lays the groundwork for the new offices in season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burgers and Brews

**Author's Note:**

  * For [merryghoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryghoul/gifts).



> Spoilers for some of the first episode of Season 5 (where and what the new offices are).

Parker looked around her. She wasn’t bored just keeping an eye on her surroundings. No thief worth their salt truly ignored their surroundings no matter what company they were in. Though Parker was sure that her two companions, Alec Hardison and Eliot Spencer, could take care of her as well as themselves, Parker couldn’t quite break the habit of relying only on herself.

The three of them sat at the airport seafood restaurant eating and waiting for their flights. Eliot was going who knows where for who knew how long. She and Hardison were taking a vacation. She was going to show him her favorite buildings to rappel down. She just hoped he could keep up.

The waiter arrived with their food: fish and chips for Hardison, pan-seared salmon for Eliot, and a plain hamburger for her. The food was a reflection of each of them. Eliot, despite being all rough on the outside had hidden depths, like his passion for cooking gourmet food. Maybe their next cover could involve an outlet for that. She’d mention the idea to Haridson. He could probably make it happen. She wasn’t stupid. She knew Hardison and Nathan Ford had a plan to get the team back together after a couple months’ vacation to throw the authorities off their trails.

Hardison liked food he could easily eat while doing other things. Even now he had a small computer open and watching the news feeds and police feeds to see if they had to run faster or if their current plan was working. He dipped the fried fish in the tartar sauce with one hand and the other made the computer do what he wanted it to. She didn’t know why but she found this endearing rather than irritating.

Her choice of food was just practical. She knew she liked hamburgers and most places couldn’t screw them up. She wasn’t sure about the other foods on the menu. They seemed normal enough but she wasn’t going to take a chance.  
The pleasant conversation that Hardison and Eliot had been carrying on while she’d been lost in thought ground to a halt. (Ok, so it was more like friendly bickering than pleasant conversation but that was how those two showed affection for each other and Parker found that pleasant, though she didn’t know why.)

“My flight is in twenty minutes so I need to get to my gate,” Eliot said as he stood and tossed a couple bills on the table. 

Parker eyed them with a gleam. There was almost nothing she liked more than cash. It didn’t matter the amount, cash was cash and when you saved even small bills it could add up quickly. Eliot gave a look and she snatched the hand that had been creeping towards the cash.

Hardison stood and, after a moment of awkwardness, hugged Eliot, in that manly, back-thumping kind of way. Eliot stood stiff and still for a moment but he returned the back thump just before they broke apart. He squeezed Parker’s shoulder gently and left.

“So now what?” Parker asked as they watched Eliot blend into the crowd in the terminal.

“Now we pay our tab and get on our plane to Tokyo,” Hardison as he shut his small computer down and Parker gathered up their luggage. Hardison raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked. He sighed and grabbed a fifty from his pocket and tossed it on the table, because Eliot was right- it was hard work waiting tables and Hardison could afford to be generous with the tip.

A month later, Hardison had brought Parker to Portland, Oregon , the next place to need a branch of Leverage Incorporated. Apparently she had been right. Nate had asked Hardison to set up a new office and be ready for the team. 

“What kind of office and or cover should we do?” Hardison asked Parker as they looked through the real estate listings on the laptop. They were sitting in their room at the Governor Hotel in Portland.

“I don’t know,” Parker said. “But not a law firm.”

“Law firm didn’t work,” Hardison agreed. “But it was pretty sweet having a bar with a back room to do business in.”

“Maybe we need a bar,” Parker suggested.

“That isn’t really Portland’s style,” Hardison said as he scrolled further down the listings. “But here is something that is.”

Parker looked over his shoulder. “A brew pub? What is that?”  
“Beer brewery with a restaurant attached,” Hardison said. “That would have plenty of room for whatever we need.”

“And Eliot would have a restaurant,” Parker said with a smile. “I think he’d like that.”

“I’m sure he would,” Hardison agreed. He made an appointment with the realtor for him and Parker to check out the place.

That afternoon, it was confirmed that the building was perfect. The ceilings were high enough that Parker could do some rappelling. The kitchen appeared to be up-to-date. The back rooms were large enough to house the offices with room for at least one apartment. 

Hardison made the deal with the seller and a week later, he and Parker were setting things up. He let Nate know the new location. Then he tracked down Eliot and Sophie. A month after they arrived in Portland, the team was back together and had already taken on their first case.

After the job with the Spruce Goose, Eliot made Hardison and Parker sit down with him and go over a menu.  
“Damn it, Hardison,” Eliot growled. “I told you this was a hard thing to do.”

“But you didn’t tell me it would take all day and all night,” Hardison whined.

“Do you want the brew pub cover to hold?” Eliot asked and Parker and Hardison nodded. “Then we need a successful menu.”

“You need a burger section,” Parker chimed into the discussion.

“Beer and Burgers are always good together,” Hardison said.

“But it can’t be just any burger,” Eliot said. Parker glared at him. “Fine. One burger with nothing fancy on it.” Parker leaned over and hugged him. “But I reserve the right to make a few more with gourmet local ingredients.” Eliot picked up his menu notes and walked into the kitchen to do some test cooking.

“I knew he’d love having his own restaurant,” Parker said as she flounced away up the stairs to test out her newest harness.  
Hardison just shook his head and went back to trying to make a couple new identities for the team. They had been lucky on this first case but they were going to need some other people to be really soon.


End file.
